Jayapura, 13 October 2025 — A total of 45 researchers and health practitioners participated in a workshop entitled “Infectious Disease Modeling for Research and Health Policy,” held at Horison Sentani Hotel, Jayapura Regency, from 13–16 October 2025.

The workshop was part of the Strengthening Health Initiatives for Eliminating Infectious Diseases in Papua (SHIELD PAPUA) program, which focuses on strengthening science and research to support the elimination of infectious diseases in Tanah Papua.

This event was made possible through collaboration among several local and international institutions, including Universitas Cenderawasih (UNCEN), the Oxford Clinical Research Unit Indonesia (OUCRU ID), and the Indonesia Infectious Disease Modelling Community (INDEMIC). Funding for the workshop was provided by the SPARKLE (Strengthening Preparedness in the Asia-Pacific Region through Knowledge, Learning and Education) program.

SPARKLE is an international consortium based at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Australia. The program was established to strengthen knowledge, learning, and education in order to translate research findings into tangible solutions for improving pandemic preparedness across the Asia-Pacific region.

Participants and speakers came from a diverse range of institutions, including Universitas Cenderawasih, the Papua Provincial Health Office, the Papua Public Health Laboratory, OUCRU ID, the National University of Singapore, Monash University Indonesia, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), UNICEF Indonesia, WHO Indonesia, and the Dengue Coalition (KOBAR).

As the host institution, Universitas Cenderawasih played a key role in facilitating the participation of Papuan researchers from various disciplines, particularly public health, mathematics, and natural sciences.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Dirk Y. P. Runtuboy, S.Pd., M.Kes, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at UNCEN, emphasized the university’s commitment to strengthening scientific capacity in Papua.

“UNCEN is committed to becoming a center for scientific development that is relevant to the needs of the Papuan community. Initiatives such as this strengthen UNCEN’s role in building local capacity and ensuring that Papua can actively contribute to research and decision-making at both national and global levels,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Prof. Hasmi, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Public Health, UNCEN, added that the workshop would have a direct impact on enhancing research capacity in Papua.

“Papua is unique and complex. Its vast geographic area, limited infrastructure, and extreme ecological diversity result in highly heterogeneous patterns of infectious disease distribution. Through disease modeling approaches, we can better understand disease transmission dynamics and design more effective interventions,” he explained.

Through this activity, participants not only learned the basic concepts and applications of infectious disease modeling but were also encouraged to integrate research findings into public health policy. SHIELD PAPUA and its partners hope that this workshop will serve as a starting point for the development of a stronger infectious disease research network in Papua, as well as support evidence-based decision-making to improve public health outcomes in eastern Indonesia.

(A.A)

Source:

https://www.uncen.ac.id/sparkle-oucru-indemic-dan-uncen-gelar-lokakarya-kolaboratif-pemodelan-penyakit-menular-untuk-riset-dan-kebijakan-kesehatan/